2025 NBA PLAYOFFS West First Round: #3 LA Lakers vs #6 Minnesota Timberwolves (MIN leads 1-0)

[MrOrange]

Minny shot 51% from 3 with 21 made 3's. Every team in the league would lose to that type of hot shooting.

Unless a team has a really poor shooting night, it always shoots as well as its opponents allow them. It is not some luck that they made 51% of their shots.

[Mk0]

Vanderbilt can't shoot. Like at all. So the defense may be better but the offense is gonna get even uglier.

He was awful on defense too. Was just running around, doubling for no reason most of the time and leaving great shooters open for 3

Yeah Vando was awful. But he's been awful for a while now.

Like said previously. Off season. Pelinka will be judged on that. Crazy that he got an extension. I get that he got Doncic but this team has so many glaring holes. He needs to show he can build a contending team around Luka.

Vando's job is to use his 6 fouls on Jokic. Without Jokic out there the guy is confused. He doesn't know what to do.

[life_saver]

btw, this is 14th time so far this season when Wolves have shot more than 20 3's...so this isn't a super rare thing. The big difference between Wolves this season vs last season is that their 3 pt volume has gone up significantly + 3 pt % is top 5. So its a pretty dangerous combination...especially if someone like Naz can get hot. Naz can be a very streaky shooter. Donte has been a great addition + Ant also massively improving his 3 pt shooting this ssn

[Raps in 4]

The Lakers have been exposed. Nico is a genius.

[Kobe187]

Wolves could make a deep playoff run here, have versatility, length, athleticism, defence & scoring. McDaniels, Edwards & Reid were excellent tonight.

[Movics]

I was called a casual on the PC board because I wouldn’t have traded Reid for Reaves

[Effigy]

Game 2 is going to be a ****show. I heard the league has already assigned 5 fouls to Edwards. Can anyone confirm this?

[Sealab2024]

Game 2 is going to be a ****show. I heard the league has already assigned 5 fouls to Edwards. Can anyone confirm this?

Can confirm. Also Julius Randle looked wrong at someone so we're gonna have to T him up.

[Statlanta]

Is it me or does Luka not play with that alpha swagger like he usually does when we was on the Mavs? I know the team isnt built around him but its weird not seeing him dominate every possession.

That's the thing that's off with me. Even without the lob threats and stuff from Dallas Doncic's still rattled from the trade. He has not performed on the SGA/Jokic level since last year that the Lakers were expecting once acquiring him. I don't think "fit the **** out" is a one season thing. It's one thing to be a best in the league player and choose where you want to go(what Garnett/Durant/James did) it's another thing when you were forced away. They could win the series, but I don't see the team fulfilling championship or bust mentality within LeBron James timeline.

[ILOVEIT]

Lakers are an incredibly slow, unathletic team. That's a problem against faster, more athletic teams. Warriors just blew them and made them look really old.

LeBron IS 40 and Luka PLAYS like he's 40. Austin Reeves is an incredible scorer...but he'll be destroyed defensively all playoffs long.

LeBron and Luka's only chance to OLD MAN the younger wolves by flopping and hoping the refs buy it enough to eject Ant or Gobert.

[NZB2323]

Lakers are an incredibly slow, unathletic team. That's a problem against faster, more athletic teams. Warriors just blew them and made them look really old.

LeBron IS 40 and Luka PLAYS like he's 40. Austin Reeves is an incredible scorer...but he'll be destroyed defensively all playoffs long.

LeBron and Luka's only chance to OLD MAN the younger wolves by flopping and hoping the refs buy it enough to eject Ant or Gobert.

I think you meant to say that the Wolves blew the Lakers out. The Warriors didn’t blow the Lakers to my knowledge, unless that’s how they prepare for the playoffs…

[DirtyDez]

I will never get used to Naz Reid wearing a white t-shirt under his jersey.

[JM00n69]

LOLkers

[ShootersShoot]

The lakers have literally one big in Hayes who is basically a 3rd stringer while minnys frontcourt features multiple time all stars and the reigning 6moty. Naz is going to eat up vando and dfs. Not sure what the lakers can do to neutralize the size disadvantage. Brons gonna have to turn back the clock.

[pepe1991]

Where is that guy that replayed on every comment for first 50 pages?

[Sealab2024]

Y'all haven't even experienced the NAW game. Cause I'm telling you Shai's cousin.... the worst kind of death.

[Mk0]

Game 2 is going to be a ****show. I heard the league has already assigned 5 fouls to Edwards. Can anyone confirm this?

Just saw a thread on r/nba
"Outside of take fouls and garbage time, MIN was whistled for 21 personal fouls; LAL was whistled for 6"

Silver about to double that sucker up.

[ChuckChilly]

Minnesota has better talent overall. Should be able to take this in 5 games if they don't screw around.

[cupcakesnake]

What was your prediction for this series?

I voted Wolves in 6.

Game 1 went kind of how I hoped: Lakers let us bomb open threes to protect the paint, and we hit our open threes. Will be curious to see if they can adjust to take away the 3 more without opening up the paint for drives. My hope was/is: the Lakers defense has too many holes for a playoff series. Offensively they can obviously play better than they did in game 1.

[Scottie15]

Lakers didn't get called for their first foul until 4 mins left in 2nd quarter.

Refs gonna be working overtime for the remainder of the series.